In Arkhangelsk, the new synagogue is part of the North Star Jewish Cultural Centre.

The modernist glass and metal building has a main entrance that features a giant Star of David. The building has a concert hall that seats 500 — despite the community only being 200-strong.

The previous northernmost JCC was a Jewish museum and community facilities in Trondheim, Norway, located a full degree south of Arkhangelsk’s latitude.

Arkhangelsk, which is a major fishing and logging centre, was home to two synagogues before the Communist revolution, but they closed down in the 1920s.

The first known Jewish community there was set up by former Cantonists — victims of a policy enforced from 1827 to 1856, that forced Jewish communities to give up 10 children older than 12 for every 1,000 Jews.

Last year, authorities in the Siberian city of Tomsk handed over a unique wooden synagogue built by former Cantonists to the local Jewish community.

The community, led by a Chabad rabbi, is currently preparing to open a large community center next to its main synagogue.